About Crystals and Stars - One-Shots
by lovingtimetravelexpert
Summary: One-Shots taking place in the universe of "About Crystals and Stars". Additional to the main story plus extras. Mainly Shimayu but with other pairings/characters. First Pairing (SeiKari). Cover-art by @clauvixx on instagram. Thanks again for the amazing art.
1. The Space In-between (Seikari K)

A/N: **STOP** right here if you haven't read "About Crystals and Stars". This one is a accompanying piece. Unlike the One-shots of the Purity universe, these One-shots will give more insight to the setting, other characters, other story lines etc. and are directly connected to the actual plot of "About Crystals and Stars". If you haven't read it, it will be harder to understand, what the characters are talking about. You should at least read the first chapter.

Second point. This is a shimayu One-shot collection but the first One-Shot is about SeiKari... Duh?

Point is even if there are other characters, the prince and princess are the main topic in the world at the moment and the biggest concern for everyone. The main tension of the romance between Shimon and Mayura, the arrangement, is therefore the exposition of the One-shots. So even if they aren't physically there, their romance is practically everywhere. XD

The rating will differ. It might contain M-rated fics in the future. But the ratings will appear in the chapter's titles, so you don't have to worry about that. Except you want me to make an extra book for it. Write me your opinion on this. Thanks!^^ _  
_

Also the awesome art of the cover was made by clauvixx (instagram). Can't add links in here but it's easier, if you check out her art on instagram right after reading this chapter. ;)

 **The Space In-between (SeiKari K+)**

Nowadays everything looked gray.

The weather looked more gloomy than it usually was. It seemed to rain quite more often. The wind's breath was more icy, biting every part of freed skin and chilling the flesh to the bones.

The weather in Narukami never was something for weak people. Yet, it never had looked this gray to her. It hadn't been like this before. Not even, when Seigen had left her and her daughter for years. Without Mayura life seemed dull.

Yukari stood on the veranda overlooking the estate being swallowed in long shadows while the sun sank to the west, shining for their enemy country now. It had been days, since they've last seen their daugther.

She pulled the cape closer to her body, hugging it tightly. It was the cape she had worn on the day her daughter was born. It was old, time had stolen its color but Yukari had kept it, for it reminded her of the wonder of birth. A wonder she had to her regret only experienced once. A servant had once tried to throw this cape away. Afterwards Yukari had almost felt guilty about her sudden outburst when she noticed the piece was missing.

Behind her she heard the dull fall of footsteps. She didn't turn around though and continued to stare at flowers that she had planted with her daughter once. It hurt. With her daughter missing, it was as if something had been cut out of her body. A permanent pain throbbing in her chest and tightening her lungs. It would be nice to take a breath once in a while.

A shoji was opened and closed next to her.

Her sight wavered as tears formed in her eyes. The picture of the flowers got blurred.

"You make it worse," her husband drawled from behind her.

Sucking in a shaky breath, Yukari tried to calm herself. The last few days with Seigen had been rough. She was glad and happy to welcome her husband back into her life, her lover back into her arms. Yet, the missing of their daughter was like a sword constantly hanging over their heads. "I just can't stop worrying about her. I wish I would have had the chance to talk with her, before she'd left."

"You're giving me the fault, don't you?" Seigen started their argument once again.

Defeated and tired she shook her head. "No, no," She said and turned around to look at him. He looked so sad. He always looked to be brooding, yet she could see in his droopy eyes a cloud of darkness. "I am not. I understand your reasoning."

"But you don't agree?"

She took another deep breath, strengthening herself. With a firmer voice she replied, "I believe, every mother wants their child to be happy."

"Not every," he murmured lowly. And she recalled endless nights of talking, of getting to know each other. Sad nights with a lot of heart-twisting revelations, comfort hugs and butterfly kisses. It had taken them years to get to know each other inside out and she was afraid of the one idea that had crossed her mind and twisted her heart since his return: After all the space and time dividing them, had the separation estranged them? Would they need years again to get to know each other? His following sigh was like a confirmation of her fears, yet he did not reply to her heart but to her words, "As a father I want the same."

She shook her head, laying her fears aside. The matter with Seigen was one thing. The one with her daughter another. And it was definitely more urgent. She didn't blame him for Mayura running away, but she was mad at him for planning their daughter's future. He wanted Mayura to be happy as a father. Yet, he had not acted like it and she questioned her thoughts, "But not as the sovereign of Narukami?"

He groaned as if in pain. "You two are too much alike."

Yukari rose her head in challenge at his poor attempt of distraction.

He simply looked at her and waited for a reaction but she returned his stare. He scowled in frustration folding his arms within the room of his kimono's sleeves. "I don't know how often we have to have this conversation."

"As often as we need until our daughter returns," she replied resolutely and pointed.

He turned away from her, looking now himself over his family ground. A space he had inherited from his father and had shared it with Yukari and their daughter. His gaze skipped to her once again before he looked away again. In a low voice he drawled, "She might find happiness in this marriage, you know."

"I do trust you to have chosen a nice man for our daughter, but –" Yukari shook her head and took a few steps towards him, "I wish, you had talked to me before announcing this to her. I wish to have stayed by her side."

"She is no child," he blurted out.

"No, she isn't. But she is no woman, yet, either. I always wanted her to have the same experiences I had."

His eyebrows rose in confusion. "Huh?"

She chuckled at his ignorance. It was silly as much as it was adorable. Fondness was lifting her heart and was, for once, making it easier to breathe. Lying a hand onto his shoulder, she softly replied, "The experience I made with you, Seigen."

He sighed beaten. He was probably dealing with the idea that he was loosing this debate.

Yukari smiled at him. He wore the same look, he did back then, when he had first spoken to her. His shoulder felt warm where she touched it. "Do you remember, the first time you confessed to me?"

"Ah, you were bothersome," the corner of his lips lifted all so slightly and he couldn't have looked more handsome to her as he did now, when images of the past overlapped the present.

"You were just this snotty prince to me," she teased him.

"But that changed?"

"It did." Tears flooded her eyes. The bond of their past was still connecting them. Maybe the future would weave more strings around it on its own. She swallowed bitterly. Would her daughter ever have something like she did with Seigen? A bond connecting her to her lover over space and time? "You think, Mayura could have something like this with the prince of Tsuchimikado?"

Seigen's smile dropped again. He stayed quiet – awfully quiet.

Dread filled her and made goosebumps rise on her skin. Her arm dropped from his shoulder as her smile did. "You don't?"

He sighed. Again. The thousands of sighs since his return. "You know, while discussing terms with Hoji-dono, I always wondered, if I was doing the right thing. I do wonder, if I met a man more worthy of our daughter."

She blinked confused about his cryptic reply. "Do you mean somebody in particular? Who did you think of?"

"Doesn't matter," he mumbled.

She rose her eyebrows. He couldn't mean –? "You don't mean Rokuro, do you?"

"Urgh. Of course not!"

She giggled at his exclamation. She knew despite his effort to hide it, that he was actually fond of the boy he had found on a rainy night and had brought into their house. From that day they had taken care of the brown-haired boy like a child of their own.

Yet, she could neither picture Rokuro with Mayura. They were raised like brother and sister. Yukari wished for Mayura to find a man she could love. Yet, one wish covered all her others, the wish for their daughter's return. "Seigen, where is our daughter?"

Her husband frowned deeply, "I don't know," hanging his head down low he continued, "Maybe I should have left with the search parties."

"You just returned, you can't."

"I know," he said and looked off to the space of their grounds.

She did as well. Everything looked so empty. There was too much space in the open. Darkness covered the estate with the sun having left.

Both stayed silent for a while. She wished for a miracle to cover the distance in-between her family.

"You know, I am as desperate as you to have her back. I even send the imp after her," Seigen said slowly after a while, trying to tear down the silence.

She nodded. "The sun had not moved far from the moment you returned to the moment she'd left. Mere moments, that's all we've got. Mere moments we had been a family again."

Her eyes skipped over to him. He looked downcast. A look that reminded her of her daughter. People always used to say, Mayura was the spiting image of her but Yukari could see more beneath the outer shell. The expressions her daughter made, that were uniquely Seigen and all the refined resemblances in her daughter's personality. No matter if people only saw Yukari in Mayura, she knew better; Mayura was the product of both of them, of herself and Seigen equally.

After everything they were husband and wife. No matter what. No matter how deep the cleft between them. They were bound together above, by their past and by their child. All they could do was fill the gap by getting to know each other once more.

"Seigen, could you come to my chamber tonight?" She knew she asked a lot of him but these past nights had been calming the storm that was threatening to consume her. The touch of a long forgotten lover, memories covering their kisses, emotions so familiar any yet foreign, the rediscovery of the old and the adapting to the new, that was all she had.

He seemed to know it, too. For he looked to be conflicted about visiting her the fourth night in a row but not totally dismissive. He said out lout what they both knew, too. "Again? The servants will start talking. They'll think I want to produce a second child."

Of course Yukari was aware about the possible repercussions. The servants would talk and soon a rumor would spread over Narukami that the lord wanted to produce another heir thanks to the missing of his daughter to secure his family's reign. Right now, however, Yukari couldn't care less about politics. "Let them talk. I need your comfort."

"Ah~," he nodded, looking much more uncomfortable about this.

"Besides, I won't complain about making a child." She knew, she understood, a child would never fill all the spaces in-between. She knew making a child at this particular time was a political mistake. Nevertheless it was another wish on her list of those unfulfilled and she couldn't ignore this fact for the life of her.

Seigen stared at her open-mouthed as if she had said something outrageous. "It's too risky. All our attempts in the past didn't end well, remember?"

Buried memories threatened to be dug up and she had a hard time recovering from the ultimate pain of loosing a child more than once. She clenched her hands into fists and turned towards him to face him fully. Couldn't he see that it was what she needed to feel whole again? Wasn't he feeling the same way?

He still looked at her. But where had been shock carved on his face was now frustration and fear.

In a last attempt to show him, how much it meant to her, she exclaimed, "I don't care. All I care about is us, is our family, our child and our children to come."

The facade of frustration broke apart. With a sad smile he commented, "Maybe you should have went to negotiate with Hoji-dono. You make a hell of a rhetoric."

Yukari smiled, too, at the complement. "I've learned during your absence." Her smile dropped as quickly as it formed, when she recalled the reason, "Had to."

"However, you can't expect me to risk the life of my wife for the possibility of a child," he said as fiercely as she had seen him only on very few occasions.

"Maybe the Crystal will be kind this time." She watched his gaze waver and felt like she needed to assure him. "I can't say why but I have a good feeling about it."

Her husband looked at her in unveiled defeat and sorrow, something she had never seen before. The Seigen she knew, the strong ruler and fearless fighter, would have never shown so much weakness. Not to his enemies and not to his closest friends either. Her heart bled for his, when he admitted, "I don't know what is right anymore."

She took his hand, tightening her fingers around his in a strong grip. She waited until his gaze lifted to meet her eyes, before she said, "Let us pray for the Crystal to bring us our children."

* * *

A/N: This came out a lot more angsty then I originally planned. At the beginning I only had the dialogue without all this dark and angsty emotions surrounding it. But I love angsty romance. It's the best to me. (The author admits she is screwed-up.) XD *cough* What are you feeling now? Was it too much angst? Are you more excited about the main story now or was this too much of a bummer?

And some things I'd like to mention: Yukari in this universe is a bit different because of her change of profession. I needed to adjust the character, because here she is no scientist but a ruler. So her knowledge lies in politics and rhetorics. (She still loves plants though.) So to let her show her cleverness she needed to be more witty.  
The next point is Seigen's mother that's been implied here. Funny fact: In the SnO universe there are only dead or kind mothers, most of the times they are both. Because the universe of Crystals is more realistic, I wanted to have a not kind mother who is dead - can't screw with the whole system. XD)


	2. Birthday Wishes (FamilyComfort)

A/N: Happy Birthday, Mayura!

This year I wanted to tribute Mayura's birthday without connecting it to Valentine's Day. Don't get me wrong. It's purely adorable Mayura is born on this date but I felt the need for her to have a day of her own!

Anyway, I wish you have fun reading. This one is filled with background on the Crystals universe, plus it reflects a bit on Mayura's different relationships. Bla, bla, bla... I could talk for hours about this universe but I don't want to spoiler you. Have fun reading!

 **Birthday Wishes**

Taps rolled over the wooden floor accompanied by bubbly laughter as she breezed through the left wing of the estate towards her mother's room as fast as her small feet could take her.

Mayura wasn't allowed to walk around alone. She knew. But she did not want to wait any longer! Escaping the grip of her nursemaid after she had gotten dressed and ate breakfast, she ran towards her mother's living quarters. They weren't that far from hers, anyway.

Despite the cool air of winter, she wasn't cold at all. She was warm and filled with energy because she was excited. Today was her birthday! Her tenth birthday!

Otoosama and Okaasama had promised a big present for her great day because she was a big girl now!

She couldn't wait to see what the present was. Maybe it was new, beautiful kimono. Perhaps it was the pony she had wished for so long!

A giggle escaped her lips. She would name it, Kogen after her great-grandfather, if it was a male. She was sure it would make her Otoosama proud. She had often heard Amawaka Kogen had been a nice man and a great ruler.

Her steps faltered. Blonde hair framed her sight as she tilted her head down. What to name it though, if it was a female? Her parents did not talk about their female successors a lot, probably because there weren't any. They had been wives, mothers and grandmothers to sovereign. Mayura was going to be the first female sovereign. But she wouldn't name her pony after her and to be honest, Mayura had no female friend...

If Rokuro wasn't there...

Violently shaking her head she puffed her cheeks and banished the negativity out of her head, marching forward.

It was not even certain that she would get a pony. She was old enough to know she should be grateful to any present of her parents. Perhaps they planned some activity together. Mayura blushed. That would be nice, too. Otoosama had been very busy these last few weeks.

Mayura took a turn and walked down the aisle leading towards her mother's chamber. Suddenly she noticed noises from down the hallway. Sharpening her ears she made out voices, dulled to a blur by the walls. The sound was coming from her mother's room!

Her heart jumped. With careful steps she sneaked towards the room. The voices became clearer, noises morphed into scraps of conversation as Mayura reached the closed shojo.

"... today of all days."

Mayura gasped. It was the voice of her Okaasama!

Carefully she hid her small body behind a wooden beam so her form wouldn't be seen through the thin paper of the walls.

Giddily she wondered if they were discussing her birthday present. She leaned her head closer filled with mirth.

"I don't have a choice. The Lord of Tsuchimikado wants to see me as soon as possible." She recognized her father's voice. Though it sounded sad for some reason.

"So depart tomorrow and tell him there was an incident on the journey. Maybe a robbery or something." Evil foreboding filled Mayura as she realized her parents might talk about something differently than her birthday.

"You know I can't do that. What about the guide he has sent? He would not lie to his Lord in my favor," her father drawled.

Her Okaasama sighed in the frustrated way, Mayura has learned to know her mother used, whenever Mayura had done something really bad.

"You know that it's hard for me, too," Otoosama said. "I would not leave if it weren't for finally having found a breech. But this is more important than my own life or that of our daughter."

Mayura gulped, trying not to make a sound though she cared less about hiding herself now.

It stung.

Hearing her father say those things hurt.

Tears gathered in Mayura's eyes as she barely suppressed a sob.

She knew how important it was for her father to finally bring peace to both nations, Narukami and Tsuchimikado. Knew how important it was for everyone. For her nation and for the nation of Tsuchimikado. Knew how much her father had invested. He always told her how he wanted to end the war for good. She wasn't a little girl any longer but she could not stop the tears threatening to fall.

"Right now, I don't feel like I can listen to you," her mother said in a tone foreign to Mayura. She never heard her mother talk in a voice like this before.

One of the tear drops started to roll down Mayura's cheek. The others started to follow.

"Yukari..."

"I know you are doing what you feel is right for our country and our people. I agree that the war has to end. You are serving Narukami as its Lord. But allow me to be mad at you as your wife and Mayura's mother for leaving us on her birthday."

Leaving?! Her father was leaving them? Today?

Shoving the shojo open, Mayura blurted out, "Why do you have to leave?"

Both her parents whipped around in shock. Her mother still wore her sleeping garments with her blonde hair which blended off into green just like Mayura's falling naturally around her face. Her father, though, was not only fully dressed with his long dark hair wrapped into a ponytail but armored, too. Ready to go any moment.

Uncomfortably they looked at each other. Mayura noticed the tears on her mother's cheeks as she blinked another gush of her own away. It evoked another set of tears leaving hot trails on Mayura's own cheeks.

After a while her father drawled, "It's complicated."

"Then explain!" She flinched at the sound of her own voice cracking at the last syllable.

"We're at war. I want to finish this war for good," her father lowly uttered.

She knew so much! Her chest felt heavy. How come Otoosama did not trust her with the real reason? She was a big girl now.

With a tight throat she croaked, "I know that but do you have to leave?"

Her father sighed before lifting half-lid eyes towards her. They were filled with sadness as he finally told her, "The Lord of Tsuchimikado has accepted a truce to negotiate peace. He invited me to Tsuchimikado. His herald is waiting for our departure."

"How long will you be gone?"

"I don't know. Weeks, months..." He shook his head with a frown leaving the rest of the numeration unspoken.

Mayura's gut twisted at the idea of her father being gone for years. As her heart clenched painfully she sobbed, "This is unfair. Why doesn't the Lord come over to us?"

"A lot of things are unfair. As a leader you have to make choices against your own wishes. I hope you'll understand in time that I have to do this. There will be a point you might have to choose duty over family, too, once you have replaced me as sovereign of Narukami," he explained turning away from her. A part of his face was hid in shadows.

Never! She would never choose duty over family! Never would she make her child feel like she was feeling now! She did not care if she was the future ruler of Narukami or the princess right now! She wanted to celebrate her birthday with her father. But he did not want to celebrate with her it seemed.

Swallowing down the bile of anger, she clenched her hands into fists and exclaimed, "Just go then. I don't want to see you again anyway."

Having said that she dashed out of the room. Leaving her stupid Otoosama behind with thundering footfalls on the wooden planks. She ran down the aisle back from where she came from but took a turn left and sprinted towards the veranda. Next to her she heard one of the guards gasp in surprise, "Hime-sama!"

Not batting an eye at him, she sprinted down the veranda to retrieve her sandals.

She sniffed as she reached for them. Her sight was blocked with tears and she had to clear her gaze to put them on.

Lifting her arm she wiped away the tears with the sleeve of her kimono. She did not care about ruining it. It was a present from her father for the festivities of the Crystal's dawn.

When she finished fastening them, she ran through the gardens and ignored all the surprised yelps and worried calls as she ran over the slight sheet of snow towards her save haven, the small woods surrounding the estate.

The layer of snow was higher here. Nobody cared to clean the snow from the woods. It almost overreached the soles of her sandals almost.

Looking down she observed a tear drop fall into the snow piercing a thin hole into it. She did not want to cry anymore. Furiously she grabbed piled up snow and formed a ball before hurling it deeper into the woods.

Satisfied she heard it collide with something with a loud thud.

"Ouch!"

Confused Mayura blinked and froze in motion.

Wasn't that – "Rokuro?"

Her best friend broke through the undergrowth with snow falling off his head, sporting a grumpy expression. His red eyes started to glow in happiness when they flitted to her. A grin broke on his face. "Oh, Mayura! There you are!"

Jogging over as fast as the coat her wore enabled him to he came towards her. His cheeks were colored red from the cold.

"Rokuro, what are you doing here?" Mayura asked confused. She had not expected him to be here. They weren't supposed to meet until a few hours. It wasn't like she didn't want to see him. She just had thought she could be alone for a while.

He grabbed one of her hand and dragged her deeper in the woods from where he had appeared just a moment before. "I have something for you!"

She followed him even if her heart still felt heavy from the sadness and anger pulling it down.

Crossing a few trees they came towards a meadow. From afar Mayura could see piles of snow and what had to be a big snow igloo, except for it not being perfectly round. Looking around Mayura saw the small piles off snow scattered everywhere, on branches, on bushes, even next to the igloo. Every pile had a small ball topping it.

"Happy Birthday!" Rokuro exclaimed with mirth and let go of her hand.

"Um, thanks." She mumbled, unsure about what this meant. She started fidgeting. What was the igloo for and what were those piles of snow supposed to be?

"You're welcome," he grinned at her with his arms stemmed into his hips proudly, showing off his sharp teeth in full display.

Tilting her head she tried to smile in apology. "What is it?"

"It's your fortress. The evil Tsuchimikado come and want to take over Narukami." He spread his arms over the scene as if it was obvious.

She looked at the piles of snow again and there on the heads she recognized what was supposed to be the eyes of two different colors, presented by a pebble on one side of the ball and a hole next to it. Amused she huffed, Rokuro wasn't good in crafting but as at least he had a blooming imagination.

"You can be the princess and I'll play the soldier defending her."

She frowned at his suggestion. She did not want to be the princess. She hated being the princess.

"I don't want to be a princess," Mayura murmured and sat down in the snow embracing her legs. She was glad none of the servants were here. Otherwise they'd tell her how a princess shouldn't sit down in the dirt or that she would catch her death being dressed like this in winter.

"Mayura, are you okay?" Rokuro asked.

"No," she mumbled into her clothes.

"What's wrong?"

She saw his legs as he walked in front of her and rose her eyes to his worried face while he sat down in front of her.

She sighed. At least she could confide in Rokuro without having to be afraid of him telling what she ought to do as a princess. He was one of the few people treating her as an equal. "Otoosama leaves us. He goes to Tsuchimikado. He wants to negotiate with the other Lord."

"Negotiate what?"

"Peace," Mayura said sourly. She knew the importance but it made her father leaving much more bitter. It was like he had pushed the one thing that was more important to her father than his family directly into Mayura's face.

"So he is giving up the war just like this?" Rokuro asked with disbelief forming his voice.

Lifting her head she gazed at his shocked face. "It's not about giving up, Rokuro. He wants to end the war so nobody will have to die anymore."

"Hmm..."

Why couldn't it be easy? Since she remembered her father had proclaimed peace between both nations. Had spoken and discussed it with his advisers almost on a daily basis. If the other Lord wanted peace, too, why couldn't they just decide it? Why couldn't they just tell their people to stop fighting? They were the sovereigns after all.

Disgruntled Mayura buried her face in the space between her knees.

Why had she have to be the daughter of Narkumi's ruler? She wished she was somebody else.

"Stupid war. I wish it was over. I wish I wasn't the princess of Narukami and my father wouldn't leave on my birthday," she murmured.

"How long will he be gone?"

She shrugged a shoulder, noting how everything felt heavier right now. "He doesn't know."

"Don't worry, Mayura," Rokuro replied, leaning towards her. "I'll quickly become a soldier and end the war! Then the old geezer will come back."

She could not help but smile. Even though she knew it would take years for Rokuro to become a soldier since he was around her age, she was grateful for his unbending hope. "Thank you, Rokuro."

He nodded.

He was truly her best friend. She was lucky her father had brought him in four years ago. Mayura had no siblings but thanks to Rokuro she never wished for any since the days she had sat besides his bedding and read him stories as he recovered.

She owed him to play along and reward the work he had put into his gift.

Taking a deep breath she rose to her feet and knocked of chunks of snow sticking to her buttocks. Her kimono was soaked through. Ignoring the icy bite she asked, "How do we defend ourselves against the snow men?"

In the matter of seconds a grin broke on Rokuro's face and he stumbled over to a tree. Bowing down to pull something from behind them. "With our powerful swords, forged out of the Crystal," he said holding two branches up high.

"I thought I was a defenseless princess."

"I was going to dual-wield cause it is so cool but you can have one branch, if you want," he replied, sticking out one of the branches for her to grab.

She took the branch. Its other end fell to the ground as she was surprised at its weight. She heaved it up again. "Thanks. Now what?"

"Smash!" Rokoru yelled before swinging his branch towards one of the piles.

An hour later she was tired but happy having laughed to her heart's content. At least for a little while she was allowed to be a normal girl.

However, her father had been gone already when she returned to the estate. She felt guilty about not having had a chance to say goodbye. She should have seized the opportunity but hurt and pride had made her ignore her love for her father.

At night she fell asleep in the arms of her mother as they both comforted each other as they did for years to come.

Winters passed by and the world changed.

* * *

As the sun climbed up in the sky, Mayura was already awake and happily taking care of the latest addition of her little family.

Today little Kogen was hungrier as usual. Energetically he sucked on her breast as she fed him, looking outside and watching the sun climb the mountain the estate sat on, bathing both of them in its warm light.

She loved these tranquil moments. She was nothing but a mother right now as she breast fed her son. That's why she had opposed the idea of employing a wet nurse. Like her mother before her she wanted to do it herself and she had not done so with Kogen but with their first born, too and she would do it with other children yet to come.

Little Kogen made a crackling sound and pulled away. Finally he was sated.

While covering herself again, she looked down on him and he met her gaze with the same eyes of his father. Clear and bright, a blue as if it was carved out of the sky.

Her heart jumped in happiness and she grazed a hand over the slight layer of red hair that covered his head, feeling so fluffy against her palm.

"I guess we have a few more minutes until the commotion starts, Kogen-chan."

Little Kogen giggled in response.

Satisfied Mayura leaned back and savored the start of her twentieth birthday with the cold and clear air of winter remain and the sun shining strong announcing the next spring to come.

"Kaasan!" A bright voice yelled.

Already knowing who it was coming from, she looked over her shoulder with a smile and saw her husband being dragged along by their daughter toddling into the room.

"Ohayo, Kuzunoha," Mayura said smiling at her daughter who barely had learned to walk and to talk but was doing both with a lot of enthusiasm. The first daughter of a unified nation was cheerful and kind. Her blonde hair ending in red strains bobbled up and down as she walked over and placed a crumbled paper on Mayura's lap.

"Happy Birthday! Kuzu drew a picture," she mumbled, words sloshed and blurry but yet painted with so much happiness. "This is you. This is Toosan and this is Ko," her chubby finger not pointing to any form at particular but Mayura nodded and gasped nonetheless as she looked down onto the lines and circles scribbled on the paper by the hands of a three years old.

"Thank you very much!" Mayura smiled at her daughter beaming like the sun and patted her head.

"When Auntie Chiiko and uncle come?" Kuzunoha asked.

"When will aunt Chiiko and uncle come," Mayura corrected her though she didn't bother to correct the name. Somehow she had taken up on her father referring to his sister as Chiiko.

"Later," her husband replied before carefully taking Kogen out of her lap and leaning in for a kiss which Mayura was happy to comply.

"Happy Birthday," he mumbled against her lips.

Mayura felt a blush rise to her cheeks at the gaze in his eyes. Her heart clenched. He would have this effect on her forever, wouldn't he?

Lowly she mumbled, "Thank you."

Ten years ago she was not able to comply one role with another. Today she had different roles to live up to. She was a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister and daughter in law and a sovereign.

Now all these roles merged perfectly together, as she was happily together with her little family.

She was Mayura, 20 years old, and she had finally found a home.

* * *

A/N: Ok, I freak out at the idea of a 20 year old having two kids already but I know it was fairly usual for a long time. So many women accomplished great things at a young age. I guess I want Mayura to be one of those hyper women who change their time as effectivelly as they change the diapers of their little ones.


End file.
